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December 23

Pio Pico

Ranchos in 1845Rancho Jamul was deeded to Pio Pico, the last governor of Alta California. Born at Mission San Gabriel, Pico was Spanish, African and Native American. He became one of the richest men in the state but lost his fortune. He is honored at Pio Pico State Historic Park.

Benicia in 1846Mariano Vallejo sold the land to build the town of Benicia, named in honor of his wife. Located on the Carquinez Straight, it was intended to rival San Francisco. Benicia was the state capital in 1853 – 1854.

Overland trail in 1846Patrick Breen, traveling with the Donner Party, wrote in his diary: “Snowed a little last night. Clear to day & thawing a little. Milt took some of his meat to day; all well at their camp. Began this day to read the Thirty days prayer. May Almighty God grant the request of an unworthy sinner that I am. Amen.”

Film in 1912“Hoffmeyer’s Legacy,” the first Keystone Cops film, was released.

San Bruno in 1914San Bruno was incorporated following a campaign by the local newspaper, the San Bruno Herald, mainly so the streets could be paved.

World War II in 1941The Union Oil tanker Montebello was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and sank off the coast near Cambria. The crew of 38 survived.

Union Oil tanker torpedoed (1941).

Webb in 1982Jack Webb, actor, producer and director, died in Los Angeles at age 62. He was best known for his role, Joe Friday, in the radio and television series “Dragnet,” perhaps the most famous and influential police procedural drama in history.

Flight in 1986Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager landed the Rutan Model 76 Voyager at Edwards Air Force Base, making it the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without refueling.

Business in 1998 Two days of freezing temperatures caused an estimated $700 million in agricultural damage. Citrus crops in the central San Joaquin Valley were especially hit hard.

Billy Barty in “Willow” (1988).

Barty in 2000Billy Barty, film and television actor, died in Glendale at age 76. He stood three feet, nine inches tall. His career spanned 50 years.

December 24

Santa Clara mission cemetery.

Missions in 1775The first non-native child, christened Salvador Linares, was born in California on the trail near Borrego Springs. He is buried at the Santa Clara mission cemetery.

Literature in 1849The first English-language book was printed in California. California as it is and as it May be, or a Guide to the Gold Region, by Felix Wierzbicki, included a survey of agriculture, hints on gold mining, a guide to San Francisco, a chapter on Hispanic residents and Native American tribes.

Fires in 1849A fire that started at a San Francisco gambling parlor burned most of the city because there was no fire department. It was one of seven major fires in two years.

San Francisco fires (1849 – 1851)

Music in 1910Luisa Tetrazzini, legendary Italian coloratura soprano, sang to a vast crowd at Lotta’s Fountain in San Francisco, honoring the city’s rebirth after the 1906 Earthquake and Fire.

Luisa Tetrazzini singing at Lotta’s Fountain in San Francisco (1910).

Muir in 1914John Muir, Scottish-born American naturalist and Sierra Club founder, died in Los Angeles at age 76. He fought to preserve Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas.

Theodore Roosevelt with John Muir at Yosemite (1906). Courtesy Library of Congress.

Foods rich in beta carotene.

Science in 1929James H.C. Smith, Stanford scientist, reported successfully isolating sufficient amounts of carotene to determine its chemical structure. Carotene is responsible for the orange colour of carrots and the colours of other fruits, vegetables and some animals.

Science in 1936A radioactive isotope was used for the first time to treat a human disease. It was administered at the Donner Laboratory in Berkeley.

Pierre Salinger, press secretary to John Kennedy.

Journalism in 1953Pierre Salinger, San Francisco Chronicle reporter and later press secretary to President John Kennedy, won the 1953 McQuade Memorial Award for his articles on poor conditions in California county jails. He had himself arrested under an alias in Bakersfield and Stockton for an inside look.

Film in 1970Walt Disney’s “Aristocats” premiered. It was the 20th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series.

Business in 1997The U.S. Air Force agreed to sell McClellan Air Force Base to Sacramento County for a some $90 million, payments to begin in 2008 and continue for 45 years.

Murder of a Mafia Daughter by Cathy Scott (2002).

Crime in 2000Susan Berman, writer and daughter of Davie Berman, a Las Vegas mobster, was murdered execution style in her Los Angeles home. She wrote Easy Street: The True Story of a Mob Family (1981).

Crime in 2002Laci Peterson, 8-months pregnant, disappeared from her Modesto home. Amber Frey later admitted to an affair with Laci’s husband, Scott. Laci’s body was found near where he went fishing on December 24.

Crime in 2008A man who was having marital problems, dressed as Santa Claus and opened fire at a Christmas party in Covia, leaving 9 people dead. Hours later police found Bruce Pardo, dead, at his brother’s home in Los Angeles.

Natural gas explosion in Sacramento (2008).

Accidents in 2008Wilbert Paana died following a natural gas explosion at his home in Sacramento. His daughter and granddaughter were critically injured. PG&E later agreed to pay $26 million for federal and state safety violations related to the explosion.

Klugman in 2012Jack Klugman, stage, film and television actor, died in Los Angeles at the age of 90. He starred in “The Odd Couple” TV series (1970-1975) and in “Quincy, M.E.” (1976-1983).

December 25

Margaret and Patrick Breen

Overland trail in 1846Patrick Breen, traveling with the Donner Party, wrote in his diary: “Began to snow yesterday about 12 o’clock. Snowed all night & snows yet rapidly. Wind about E. by N. Great difficulty in getting wood. John & Edwd. has to get: I am not able. Offered our prayers to God this Cherimass morning. The prospect is appalling; but hope in God. Amen.”

Ripley in 1893Robert Ripley was born in Santa Rosa. He created “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” newspaper panel series, radio show and television show featuring unbelievable facts from around the world.

Sports in 1894University of Chicago, the first midwestern football team to play on the west coast defeated Stanford at Palo Alto, 24-4.

Fields in 1946W.C. Fields, comic film actor, died in Pasadena at age 66 or 67. His acting career spanned from vaudeville shows to the silent movie era then becoming a talkies movie star.

Hollywood in 1963Walt Disney’s “The Sword in the Stone” premiered. It was the 18th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series.

Rembrandt, Portrait of a Rabbi (1657).

Crime in 1978Four Renaissance paintings were stolen from the De Young Museum in San Francisco. Three works, including Rembrandt’s “Portrait of a Rabbi,” were recovered in New York City in 1999. One is still missing.

Martin in 1995Dean Martin, one of the most popular entertainers of the mid-20th century, died in Beverly Hills at age 78.

Dean Martin.

Richard Bliss.

Spies in 1997Richard Bliss, accused of being a U.S. spy in Russia, arrived in San Diego after Russian authorities let him return home. He worked as a field technician for Qualcomm Inc.

Accidents in 2003Sixteen people were killed at a youth camp near San Bernardino after mudslides, triggered by heavy rain, swept down the San Gabriel Mountains that had been recently burned by wildfire.

Siberian tiger.

December 26

Gold Rush in 1848The first gold seekers arrived in Panama on their way to San Francisco.

Gold Rush cartoon.

Nero, a Donner Party dog.

Overland trail in 1846Trapped in snow in the Sierra Nevada and without food, starving members of the Donner Party resorted to cannibalism.

Kwanzaa in 1966Kwanzaa was first celebrated by Maulana Karenga, chair of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach.

Kwanzaa.

Pizza Time Theatre.

Business in 1978Nolan Bushnell, inventor of the Pong video game, opened the 20,000-sq.-foot Pizza Time Theater in San Jose. It was then the world’s largest pizza parlor.

Business in 2007eBay, in San Jose, announced a micro-lending website for investing in entrepreneurs in poor communities around the world.

ebay.

December 27

Carrying hides to a longboat. Illustration from Two Years Before the Mast (1911)

Literature in 1835Richard Henry Dana collected hides from the San Jose and Santa Clara missions. He described his Alta California adventure in Two Years before the Mast (1840).

Mexican American War in 1846John Fremont and the California Battalion captured Santa Barbara. Mexican soldiers at the presidio planned to ambush the Americans but Fremont and his men surprised them by crossing the Santa Ynez Mountains at San Marcos Pass in a rainstorm. They lost horses, mules and a cannon but regrouped and captured Santa Barbara without a fight.

Overland trail in 1846Patrick Breen, traveling with the Donner Party, wrote in his diary: “Continues clear. Froze hard last night. Snow very deep: say 9 feet (2.7 m) [2.74 meters]. Thawing a little in the sun. Scarce of wood. To day chopt a tree down. It sinks in the snow & is hard to be got.”

Pala Casino Spa Resort

Indians in 1875President Ulysses Grant created the Pala Indian Reservation by Executive Order. When Cupeños were forced from their homeland in the “Cupeño Trail of Tears” (1903), Luiseños at Pala offered them safety. Today together they own Pala Casino Resort and Spa near Fallbrook.

Crime in 1881Charles Earl Bowles, English born gentleman bandit known as Black Bart who left poems at the scenes of his crime, held up Wells Fargo Stagecoaches 28 times. His 20th was outside of Bridgeport in Nevada County.

Music in 1913Thousands of people gathered at Lotta’s Fountain in San Francisco for the Christmas Eve festival of singing, postponed due to rain.

Music in 1961Tony Bennett, at the Fairmont Hotel Venetian Room in San Francisco, sang his first public solo performance of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”

VaxGen Inc.

Science in 1998VaxGen Inc. of South San Francisco reported an AIDS vaccine in clinical trials. It was derived from a genetically engineered protein copied from a protein found in the HIV virus.

Bridgeville.

Business in 2002Bridgeville in Humboldt County was sold on Ebay for $1.77 million. After the deal failed, a Southern California investor bought the 82-acre town for $700,000 in 2004.

Crime in 2002Keith Mackie-Harris and Jerry Duckworth were shot to death at a party in Oakland by members of a gang called the Nut Cases.

San Francisco Department of Parking and Traffic.

Crime in 2006 San Francisco Department of Parking and Traffic began a test using cameras to scan license plates to search for cars with unpaid citations. Metal boots were placed on cars with at least five outstanding tickets.

Environment in 2006A 2-day storm with 60 mph winds hit the San Francisco Bay Area. Manka’s Lodge, built in Inverness (1917), burned when wind knocked a tree into a water heater. A woman in Lagunitas died when a tree crashed through her cottage.

Manka’s Lodge.

Robert Graham.

Graham in 2008 Robert Graham, sculptor, died in Santa Monica at age 70. His massive bronze monuments across America, including the F.D.R. Memorial in Washington D.C., celebrate the human figure.

December 28

Communication in 1902 The Trans-Pacific cable that linked Hawaii to the U.S. landed at Ocean Beach in San Francisco near the Cliff House. It was met by a large crowd, dignitaries and a brass band.

Transportation in 1912The first municipally owned streetcars in the U.S. began operation in San Francisco. That was the start of Muni.

Environment in 1973The California Endangered Species Act passed. It broadened and strengthened protection for plants and animals listed by the U.S. as threatened or endangered.

The endangered giant kangaroo rat is one of the key species of California’s Carrizo Plain.

Wilson in 1983Dennis Wilson, drummer, singer and songwriter, died in Marina Del Rey at age 39. He founded the Beach Boys with his brothers, Brian and Carl, cousin, Mike Love and Al Jardine.

Environment in 1998 Fog closed all San Francisco Bay Area airports, stranding thousands of travelers.

Tyisha Miller.

Crime in 1998 Tyisha Miller, 19-years-old, was shot and killed by Riverside police officers as she sat with a gun in her car. The coroner reported that she was legally drunk with traces of marijuana present. The police officers were cleared of criminal charges in the killing.

Moore in 1999Clayton Moore, star of “The Lone Ranger” television series in the 1950s, died in Calabasas at age 85.

December 29

Stanislaus River.

Ranchos in 1843Rancheria del Rio Estanislao, a Mexican land grant, was deeded. The approximately 11 square mile ranch in Stanislaus County is near the site of the fortress Estanislao built during revolt of 1829.

Environment in 1856Snow fell in San Francisco and accumulated to 2-3 inches.

Snow in San Francisco (1886)

San Francisco Symphony

Music in 1911San Francisco Symphony debuted, celebrating the city’s return to cultural life after the 1906 Earthquake and Fire. Today it is known for winning many awards and educational and community programs.

Flight in 1937Pan American Airways began flying from San Francisco to Auckland, New Zealand.

Pan American’s Sikorsky S-42B (1937).

Dave Pelzer

Pelzer in 1960Dave Pelzer, author of A Child Called It (1995), was born in San Francisco.

Hubbard in 2008 Freddie Hubbard, Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter, died in Los Angeles at age 70. He was known for playing bebop, hard bop and post-bop styles starting in the early 1960s. National Endowment for the Arts recognized him with a Jazz Masters Award.

December 30

Transportation in 1940A section of Arroyo Seco Parkway, California’s first freeway, opened in Los Angeles in time for the Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl. It ran from Avenue 40 to the Figueroa Street Viaduct at Avenue 22.

Arenas in 1967Great Western Forum, also known as the Fabulous Forum, opened in Inglewood. It was home to the Los Angeles Lakers, Kings and Sparks until all three teams moved to the Staples Center.

The Fabulous Forum.

Swifty Lazar.

Lazar in 1993Swifty Lazar, legendary Hollywood agent and dealmaker for movie stars and authors, died in Beverly Hills at age 86.

Epstein in 2000Julius Epstein, Hollywood screenwriter, died in Los Angeles at age 91. He was best known for his work on the film “Casablanca” (1942), for which the writers won an Academy Award.